


St Ives

by BarPurple



Series: Kits and Knits [1]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Cats, F/M, Slow Burn, eventual Rumbelle
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-23
Updated: 2019-01-30
Packaged: 2019-07-01 11:29:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15773214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BarPurple/pseuds/BarPurple
Summary: Gold finds something very unexpected in his closet drawer.





	1. Kits and Knits

In hindsight he should have had the cat flap in the backdoor removed when he moved in. He had meant to do it after he’d finished unpacking, but something had come up and it had been pushed further and further down his mental to do list. After the first few years it wasn’t even on the list anymore. After a decade or so he barely noticed the cat flap at all.

Now he had no one to blame but himself for the furry invader that had made itself at home in the bottom drawer of his closet.

The cat blinked and him and all he could do was blink back. She was a stripy and patched combination of orange, white, black and browns that he had no idea how to describe. Maybe that’s why there were so many black cats in books, no that was ridiculous there was bound to be a correct tern for this sort of colouring on a cat, he just didn’t know it that was all.

How long had she been tucked away in his jumper drawer? Long enough to deliver two kittens apparently. He had no idea how long it took to deliver two, no wait three kittens, but it couldn’t have been that long. He’d been a bit distracted lately but failing to notice a pregnant cat wandering around his house was unlikely. Probably unlikely, he hadn’t been sleeping very well lately.

The cat mewled and sniffed towards the jumper he’d pulled out of the drawer. It had been half covering her and her kittens.

“Oh, sorry. Here you are.”

He carefully placed it back in the corner of the drawer, figuring that if she wanted to bury herself under it again she’d be able to manage. He stepped back again not wanting to upset her. Did cats eat their kittens if they were disturbed, or was that some old wives’ tale?

“I know bugger all about cats, y’know.”

He stood there for a moment longer feeling useless. Mama cat washing one of the kittens now, and it looked like the other two were suckling. She’d got caring for her kittens all covered, but who was going to care for her?

“That’ll be my job won’t it? Until we find out if you have an owner.”

The idea of returning Mama and her kittens to the person who let her wander off didn’t sit right with him for some reason. His knowledge of cat care hadn’t miraculously increased in the past five minutes, but Google was only a click away. He limped backwards into his bedroom, unwilling to take his eyes off the new little family snuggling in his winter woollies. He had to turn around eventually to find his phone. After several annoying minutes of nothing but unhelpful adverts for big name pet stores, none of which were located within thirty miles of Storybrooke, he found a simple helpful list of safe human foods for cats.

“Okay, I have chicken, I’ll be back in a few minutes with that and some water for you.”

He snuck a look at Mama before he headed down to the kitchen. All three kittens were feeding now and Mama herself had leaned back with her head on the jumper he’d been planning to put on. He snapped a quick picture and went to gather her food. Once he was in the kitchen he looked at the picture he’d taken. There was Mama and three kittens, at least he had hallucinated her in a fit of sleep deprived madness.

He ended up taking everything upstairs in a shallow plastic tray, the chicken in one bowl, and empty bowl for water, and yesterdays newspaper and the tray itself to severe as a litter tray. He hoped she was house trained, if not then he’d have to think of how to deal with that later. The kittens weren’t going to be house trained. Would Mama take them to the litter tray or would they just pee and poop on his jumpers? Cats were clean animals, weren’t they? Mama wouldn’t let her kits shit were they nest, would she? That could be a problem for later.

Mama showed an interest in the chicken as soon as he stepped back into the closet. He barely got the bowl to the floor before she’d jumped gracefully out of the drawer and was curling around his feet.

“Easy there. I’m not as steady on my pins as you are.”

Bending down was never an easy affair for Gold, but after years of practice he’d found a method that worked. There was no one here but Mama and since he was bearing chicken she was unlikely to snigger at his awkward movements or cracking joints.

“Think I might have put to much on that plate.”

Mama didn’t seem put off by facing half her weight in meat. He’d cooked the chicken yesterday and had been planning to use the leftovers for a sandwich tomorrow. Ah well, Granny’s was only down the street, a burger wouldn't kill him. He crossed his bedroom to the en suite and filled up the water bowl.

The kittens were mewling for Mama, she’d had her work cut out for her on her own. He could always take the day off to look after Mama and the kittens. Did vets make house calls? The one who rented their shop and house from him would if he suggested that they wouldn’t be renting from him for long if they didn’t. It would be expected from him, there were some advantages to being the beastly landlord.

As he carefully placed the water next to Mama he smiled. He could always offer the vet a discount for a house call. He chuckled to himself, that would scare the good townsfolk more than if he threatened eviction.

He snagged a pillow from his bed and eased himself down on to the floor next to the drawer. Mama appeared unbothered by his proximity to the kittens. One was a grey tabby, a colouring which he guessed had come from the father. The other two were a mix of Mama’s multi colouring. Their little eyes were still closed but they looked content enough snuggling into the pile of jumpers that Mama had turned into a nest for them.

Gold yawned it was late, he should go to bed and try to get some sleep. Mama left her food and padded back over to the drawer. Instead of jumping right back in, she nudged Gold’s hand and demanded a bit of fuss.

“You’re not a stray are you Mama? Far too friendly. Or do you just like anyone who gives you chicken?”

Mama butted at his hand and then leapt back into the drawer with her kittens. He’d have to come up with names for them, that could wait until they were bigger. As Mama settled and began purring Gold leaned his head back against the wall. It wasn’t long before his eyes slipped closed and his own gentle snores joined Mama’s purring.


	2. Chapter 2

Storybrooke’s only vet, Helen Alderson, was used to receiving calls from panicked animal owners at all hours, but the call that came on the dot of eight o’clock that morning was unusual in more ways than one. Firstly, the voice on the other end of the line was calm and precise, and secondly it belonged to Mr Gold; who didn’t own a pet of any kind.

When the soft Scottish accent had greeted her, Helen had had a crazy moment of panic and blurted out; “But I paid the rent! In full!”

She’d just caught the small huff before Mr Gold had explained that it was her professional services he required. She couldn’t help wondering how he had come by four cats. There were outlandish stories of him taking all manner of valuable things from people who made deals with him, but they were just rumours; weren’t they?

Under normal circumstances she only did house calls for farm animals and the horses at the local stable. Mr Gold, however, wasn’t the sort of person you said no to, and she was curious about his house. As far as she knew the only people who regularly went inside the pink Victorian were Mr Gold’s housekeeper, Mrs Potts, and his righthand man, the giant Dove. Both were tight-lipped and kept their employer’s secrecy as closely as the man himself did.

Helen tended to the animals under her care as she gathered up the things she would need to check on a cat and kittens. It meant unpacking her Gladstone bag entirely and repacking it again. Cats needed very different items to cows or sheep. The whole process was hindered by Crispy the parrot who was in a nuisance mood this morning and keep dipping into her bag and pulling things out.

“Crispy! Put that back! I don’t want to keep Mr Gold waiting.”

The parrot dropped the flea treatment and squawked; “Arm and a leg!”

Helen sighed. Crispy had been bequeathed to her when Mr Teach passed away. The old man had trained the parrot to call Mr Gold all manner of names. ‘Arm and a leg’[ was one of his politer phrases. There were still rumours that the reason behind the verbal assault from the bird was because of some deal gone bad. She didn’t give much credit to that idea these days.

Helen had been mortified the first time Mr Gold came to collect the rent after Crispy moved in with her. The wayward parrot had greeted Mr Gold with a string of foul names. She’d been convinced that she was about to be evicted, or at least get a few snide comments from the landlord, but he’d laughed. Crispy flew across the room to perch on Mr Gold’s shoulder and take the seedless grapes that were offered. Apparently Mr Gold carried parrot friendly snacks in the pockets of his immaculate suit.

“Good morning Crispy. You’re going to have to watch that beak of yours now you’re living with a lady.”

Crispy had snorted and given Mr Gold’s finger an affectionate nip before flying off to get into trouble elsewhere. Mr Gold hadn’t been inclined to explain his surprising relationship with the parrot and Helen had been too shaken to ask. That day had changed Helen’s view on the feared landlord, early morning panics aside.

Her Gladstone finally packed correctly she double checked the practice and nodded to herself.

“Right Crispy I won’t be long. Don’t answer the phone and don’t tease Smaug!”

Crispy gave an evil chuckle. Helen sighed. The town was used to Crispy taking their calls these days, and Mrs Took’s iguana could give as good as she got.

“You wouldn’t have become a vet if you wanted a quiet life.”

 

Gold rubbed the back of his neck and rolled his shoulders. He’d slept on the floor of his closet for about an hour last night and that was far too long according to his aching bones. Mama and the kittens hadn’t been disturbed when he staggered to his bed, although Mama’s ears had perked up at some of his more dramatic moans and groans.

Dr Alderson arrived just before nine and was all business. Gold did notice her glancing around as he led her upstairs, but she kept her curiosity to a minimum, so he didn’t comment. He imagined she was feeling a touch uncomfortable, he certainly was. Aside from Dove and Mrs Potts he didn’t like people in his house, but he didn’t have the means to move Mama to the vets, so he was going to have to cope.

“Okay, let’s see who we have here.”

Dr Alderson snapped on some gloves and knelt down next to Mama’s drawer. Gold tried to stay out of her light but couldn’t stop himself from hovering around to keep an eye on things.

“When did you find her?”

“Last night. I think she made use of the old cat flap in the back door.”

The vet hummed in response as she checked Mama’s ears and eyes; “She’d well cared for, not a stray, but I don’t recognize her. The good news is she doesn’t have fleas.”

Gold blinked he’d not even considered that. He casted an eye over all of his suits and shirts, if Mama had been harbouring little passengers then he would have had to fumigate his whole closet.

“That’s a relief. And the kittens?”

“No fleas either, and they are looking good,” – Dr Alderson petted Mama, - “You’ve done very well there, Mama.”

Gold smiled as Mama purred at the compliment; “I fed her some chicken, but I’ll need a list of necessaries for her and the kittens, if you would be so kind.”

She hummed and the device in her hand beeped; “Oh good. I don’t think you’ll be needing much, Mr Gold. She has an owner.”

Gold’s stomach lurched. He’d figured that Mama was a stray and that she and the kittens would be staying with him. A surge of anger at the irresponsible owner washed through him. What sort of person let a pregnant cat roam the streets?

Dr Alderson whistled through her teeth; “She’s a long way from home.”

She turned the chip scanner towards Gold. Apparently, Mama’s real name was Minty, which struck him as bizarre for a cat. He frowned as he read the address.

“But that’s forty miles away.”

“You might be needing those supplies, Mr Gold, this looks like a deliberate dump job. I’ll try and contact the owner just in case, but I’d say there’s a good chance you’re a cat daddy now.”

His nose wrinkled at her silly term, but he couldn’t quite keep the smile from his face. Whoever this B. French was they were a fool to have thrown Mama away.

 

Half an hour ago Belle French wouldn’t have believed she could feel so angry. She’d returned from a week-long library conference, happy because she’d managed to catch an earlier flight, only to hurry into her flat to find her fiancé shagging another woman on the living room rug.

There had been screaming, shouting, a hasty half-dressed exit by the other woman, more shouting and finally her engagement ring flying across the room and bouncing sadly off Gaston’s overly muscled pecs.

All that anger had been hot, fiery and instant, it was nothing compared to the cold fury that ran through her when she tried to call Minty.

“Gaston. Where is my cat?”

Her now very ex-fiance shuffled his feet; “I went hunting with the guys, this little place called Storybrooke, has fantastic deer in the woods,” – Belle glared at him, - “Ah yeah well, the damn cat snuck into the truck and jumped out when we got there. She just bolted I couldn’t catch her.”

Belle advanced slowly across the room. Gaston gulped and backed up until his back hit the wall. Belle barely reached his shoulder, but he cringed away from her when she said; “You couldn’t catch a heavily pregnant cat? You lying bastard.”

She turned on her heel and grabbed the bag she thrown the essentials into as they had argued.

“I’ll send someone for the rest of my stuff.”

Gaston pulled a smile onto his face and held his hands out to her; “Come on babe, you’re not leaving me over a tiny little slip up.”

Belle slammed the door on her way out. Gaston sagged; “Guess she is. Oh well.”

 

Belle sat in her car and slapped the steering wheel. She driven away from that rat bastard and parked up a few streets away. She needed to calm down before she made the drive to Storybrooke to see if she could find Minty. She refused to cry over his cheating arse. If she was honest with herself she’d had some suspicions about his faithfulness for a while now, but she’d put it down to her own pre-wedding jitters.

She threw her head back and groaned at the thought of explaining to family and friends that the wedding was cancelled. That was going to be fun. At least Dad would be on her side, especially after what Gaston had done to Minty.

Her phone started ringing, but she ignored it. She wasn’t going to listen to whatever pathetic excuses Gaston had managed to come up with. Without looking she switched the phone off and took a deep breath.

“I’m going to find you Minty.”


	3. Chapter 3

Dr Alderson had given Gold a comprehensive list of what Mama would need. Apparently, she’d take care of the kittens needs, so Gold’s job was to look after her. Dove had been happy to run the pawnshop singlehanded for the day and had made a few suggestions as to which brands Gold should buy. Gold wasn’t at all surprised that Dove knew about cat care, he volunteered at the animal shelter after all.

Mrs Potts had been less thrilled that there were now four cats in residence in the pink house. She’d tutted about her recent sneezing fits and explained to Gold she had an allergy to cats. He braced himself for an argument about her continued employment, but once she’d taken a look at Mama and the kittens she’d cooed happily and asked him to pick up some antihistamines for her while he was shopping.

Halfway around the cat aisles in Pet Paradise he was glad he’d stopped in at Dark Star Pharmacy first. The array of cat food, litter, litter boxes, toys, collars, feeding dishes and treats was astounding. If this was the choice that Storybrooke’s one and only pet shop offered, thank feck he’d not driven to one of the huge chain stores, he might never have managed to find anything on his list.

The litter trays were baffling him. Did any of these have sides that were low enough for kittens? They wouldn’t be needing it for a few weeks according to what he’d read, but it struck him as sensible to get one they would be able to use now. Everything in the guide to kittens Dr Alderson had given him was vague on timeline, three to four weeks that sort of thing, he didn’t want the kittens hurting themselves the first time they tried to go for a wee on their own just because he’d not prepared for them properly.

It was no good, he was going to have to ask for help. He left his cart by the shelves and strolled up to the counter. Just as he got there a woman hurried in. Katie Shumen was working the register and she shot Mr Gold a quick glance before saying; “I’ll be with you in a moment Mr Gold.”

Gold nodded with a smile. Katie had never been scared of him, her attitude was refreshing, although he wondered if it would change if she ever rented from him? He eased his weight on to his good leg as Katie turned to the lady and asked how she could help.

“I’m looking for Great and Small, the vets?”

Now there was an accent you didn’t here often in Storybrooke. Australian, Gold guessed, another soul far from the land of their birth just like him.

Katie was quick to understand the lady’s difficulty; “Let me guess, sat nav sent you here? Happens all the time, we don’t know why. Great and Small is two streets over…”

As Katie offered directions, Gold cast a casual eye over the lady. Just looking at her towering heels made his bad ankle twinge; those things were even higher than the ones Madam Mayor wore. She appeared tense, maybe she was tired from a long drive, or nervous about having to ask for directions, of course it could be her shoes causing her discomfort. The shoes in question turned and Gold looked up quickly to find the lady offering him a smile.

“Thanks for waiting.”

“Tis no matter.”

She hurried out, presumably to find the Dr Alderson office.

“Now Mr Gold, what can I help you with?”

For a second Gold couldn’t remember what he wanted. He stared at the door, through which a head of auburn curls could been seen getting into a car. Damn it, he really needed to get some proper sleep.

“Ah, yes. I need a litter tray suitable for kittens.”

 

Thanks to the pet shop assistant’s directions Belle found Great and Small easily. She glared at her sat nav which had decided to chirp up with the instruction ‘make a legal u-turn’ before she jabbed the off switch.

She picked up her messages when she’d stopped for a quick cup of tea to calm her down. She’d been driving to fast, a problem she’d had the few times she tried to drive when this angry. She was furious, but the more she thought about it, it wasn’t Gaston cheating that was upsetting her. The bastard had ditched her cat! If she hadn’t caught him in the act, he probably would have given her some sob story that Minty had run away and then tried to distract her with wedding plans. Good job she’d had Minty chipped.

When had she become such an idiot?

Belle shook herself and climbed out of her car. The sign about the vet’s practice made her smile, until now she’d not connected the vet’s name with the James Herriot books. It was probably a silly thing, but the notion that she was about to speak with someone who liked books enough to name their business this way cheered her up.

There was no one at the front desk when she entered the building, so she rang the little bell on the desk and waited. A moment later a woman came out of the back.

“Can I help you?”

“Erm, yes, I’m Belle French I got a call that you had found my cat?”

The woman nodded; “Yes of course, I’m Helen Alderson, would you mind stepping through into the back? I’ve a troublesome iguana who doesn’t want to have his meds to deal with.”

Belle raised her eyebrows but nodded and followed the vet into the back. The troublesome iguana was perched on top of a table glaring at a parrot who was strutting back and forth along the edge of a filing cabinet.

Dr Alderson groaned and jabbed a finger at the parrot; “Crispy behave. We’ve a guest,” turning to the iguana she sighed, “Are you going to be good and let me give you your eye drops now Smaug?”

A bubble of laughed escaped from Belle and drew Dr Alderson’s attention back to her; “Sorry, nice name for an iguana.”

“Oh yes, he’s owner is Mrs Took.”

The vet managed to catch hold of Smaug and apply the required eyes drops. Belle waited until she’d returned the lizard to its cage before she said; “Where’s Minty?”

Normally she would have asked if the town boasted anymore literary references, but she really just wanted to find her cat. Dr Alderson tilted her head and gave Belle a thoughtful look.

“She did a little house breaking and delivered her kittens in Mr Gold’s closet. Mama and kits are doing great. We thought that this must be a deliberate dump job.”

Belle sagged with relief on hearing that Minty was alright, she was a touch peeved that she had missed the kittens’ birth, and the blame for that lay with Gaston. Hoping she could keep her tone level she said; “It was a deliberate job, just not by me. My ex-fiancé hated Minty and tried to ditch her while I was away for work.”

Dr Alderson’s eyes went wide; “What a…”

“Shit for brains!”

Belle jumped as the parrot squawked his comment and flew across the room to perch on the desk near her. 

“Sorry about Crispy. He likes to add his two cents worth to a conversation.”

Crispy was butting his head against Belle’s hand, in much the same way Minty did when she wanted fuss. Belle stroked the top of his head; “He’s spot on this time.”

“Huh, he usually is. I don’t know if you’ve taken care of new born kittens before Miss French, but it’s not recommended to move them any great distance at the moment.”

Belle hadn’t given that much thought at all. She’d thrown a couple of changes of clothes and her toiletries into a bag before she’d stormed out of Gaston’s flat. She was homeless and wasn’t sure she’d still have a job once Gaston realised she was serious about breaking up with him. She’d only got the position at the library because of Gaston’s mother, and she wasn’t going to take kindly to anyone walking out on her precious son.

“Erm, I guess I’ll talk to this Mr Gold, did you say it was? And see if we can come to some sort of a deal. I’ve got a week’s holiday, is there anywhere I can stay in town?”

Helen wrote both the address for Granny’s Inn and Mr Gold’s home on a card for Miss French. The poor woman was clearly having a nightmare time. She decided she would give Mr Gold a call, to let him know that Mama’s owner was on her way. Unfortunately, she didn’t get a chance to make that call because the phone started ringing and she had to rush out to the stables.


	4. Chapter 4

Belle found Granny’s Inn easily enough and booking a room for herself didn’t take long. The woman who checked her in, Ruby according to her name-tag, gave her a concerned look.

“Are you alright? You look a bit frazzled.”

It was sweet of her to show concern, even if it was only prompted by her excellent customer care skills. Belle tried to give her a genuine smile; “One of those days.”

Ruby nodded; “Okay, I mix a mean Long Island Iced Tea if you want to unwind.”

“Maybe later.”

She was glad Ruby didn’t press the matter. Belle had the feeling that if she started explaining the events of today again, she would turn into a blubbering mess. She wanted to cuddle up with her cat and eat a tub of ice cream. At least she knew where Minty was now.

After dropping her bag in her room, Belle headed back out to find Mr Gold’s house. The vet had told her the house was pink, but it still came as a surprise. For all it’s strange colouring the house and garden was immaculate.

“Hope this Mr Gold has looked after you as well as he looks after his property, Minty.”

Belle took a deep breath and mentally rehearsed what she would say to Mr Gold. ‘Hi, I hear you have my cat’ probably wasn’t great as opening lines went, but as she rang the doorbell, she couldn’t really think of anything else to say.

A grey-haired woman opened the door and Belle was confused. She’d gotten the impression from the vet that Mr Gold lived alone.

“I’m, erm, I’m looking for Mr Gold?”

“Well, you’ve found the right house. And who might you be, my dear?”

“Belle French. I believe Mr Gold has my cat.”

She’d known it was a ridiculous thing to say and the way the woman’s eyes narrowed just confirmed that for her.

“Hum, I suppose you’d better come in and speak with Mr Gold.”

Any friendliness had vanished from the woman’s tone and posture. Belle followed her into the house and then into a study. She wasn’t offered a seat, just told to wait there. She looked around the room and tried to get a sense of the man that Minty had found sanctuary with. With its dark wood and leather the room was period appropriate for the house. Everything looked antique, she spotted signs of repair on some of the trinkets displayed in the glass fronted case, it looked to her like delicate work. It was a male room, although the bag of knitting by the desk made her wonder.

_Must be a poof._

She shuddered at Gaston’s voice in her mind. Honestly hobbies were genderless. Why had she put up with him and his backward attitudes for so long.

_Because you didn’t want to become a crazy cat lady._

“Crazy cat lady sounds pretty good right now.”

“I believe one needs a cat to claim that title.”

Belle startled at the sound of the voice. She turned around to find a man who looked oddly familiar standing in the doorway. He was leaning on a cane and giving her an appraising stare, she felt rather like one of the antiques.

“Mr Gold?”

“Yes. Do you have any identification?”

Belle was a little surprised at his request, but if a total stranger turned up at her home she would have asked for the same. He stepped into the room as she rummaged in her purse for her driver’s licence. He took it from her out stretched hand with two fingers. His eyes flicked over her details and he gave a small nod.

“Thank you, Miss French.” He handed her licence back and moved to sit behind his desk. Belle waited for him to invite her to sit down, but the offer did not come. She was starting to feel like a school girl who’d been sent to the principal’s office.

“What can I do for you, Miss French?”

“The vet, Doctor Alderson, said you have found my cat. Minty.”

He leaned back in his chair and gave her a smirk; “Feeling regretful for dumping her in a strange town, are you dearie?”

Belle ground her teeth together to stop herself from snarling at him. She was so close to the end of her tether today. She squared her shoulders and lifted her chin.

“Mr Gold, I came home from a conference this morning to find my fiancé fucking another woman on our living room rug. Turns out that rat bastard had decided to ditch my cat here in your charming little town while I was away. I’m now single, homeless, probably jobless and I want my damn cat back!”

Belle rested her hands on the smooth wood of his desk. She’d not realized that she’d moved forward. Something wet landed on her hand and it struck her that she was also crying. Mr Gold reached slowly forward and nudged a box of tissues towards her.

“Please sit down, Miss French. I’ll get us some tea.”

She took some tissues but didn’t sit down until he had left the room. She let herself slump into the seat and sob for a moment.

-o0o-

Gold hurried into the kitchen. He was feeling flustered. He’d had a clear idea of how the interview with Miss French would go; she would ask for her cat back, he would refuse until she proved she hadn’t ditched Mama on purpose, then he would negotiate for Mama and the kittens to stay with him until they were old enough to be moved. After that he was expecting Miss French to decide that the cat wasn’t worth the bother.

Nothing had gone according to his plan. Now there was a crying woman in his study and he wasn’t sure why he was feeling so out of sorts about that. People tried the waterworks routine all the time to get their rent reduced. It never worked on him, and certainly never made him this unsettled.

He’d recognized her from the pet shop. Maybe if he’d put his foot down and insisted on being served before her she would have had a better idea that she was dealing with the Beast of Storybrooke. He snorted to himself; the Beast of Storybrooke, who was about to ask his housekeeper to make the sobbing woman tea. He was going soft in his old age.

Mrs Potts looked up from her biscuit making as he entered the kitchen.

“Did I hear raised voices?”

“Erm, yes. We’re going to need some tea please.”

Mrs Potts dusted her hands off on a towel and asked; “And why did you not ring from your study? No reason for you to come rushing all the way down here with a perfectly good intercom on your desk.”

His housekeeper was far too perceptive.

“Miss French need a moment to collect herself.”

“Hum-hum.” She flapped her hands at him; “Go make sure she’s alright. I’ll bring the tea when it’s ready.”

Gold sighed, he’d been hoping to hide out in the kitchen and let Mrs Potts deal with Miss French. Hum; sobbing stranger, or stern housekeeper? He turned around and headed back up to his study, at least he could demand that Miss French left his property if she got to be too much. Technically he could ask Mrs Potts to leave as well, but he wasn’t that daft, he’d never find another housekeeper as good as her.

He loitered in the hall, making use of the mirror on the wall to peer into his study. Miss French appeared calm. A meow from the stairs made him look up. Mama was also staring into the study. She leapt lightly from the stairs and padded inside. Gold followed her and stopped in the doorway.

“Minty!”

Mama jumped into Miss French’s lap and began purring. Gold smiled as Mama received all the fuss Miss French was lavishing on her. This was not a woman who had callously dumped her pregnant cat.

“Would you like to meet the new arrivals?”


	5. Chapter 5

“Would you like to meet the new arrivals?”

Miss French smiled brightly and scooped Mama from her lap into her arms; “I would love to, Mr Gold.”

Mama looked happy being held, another little sign that Miss French was well-known to her. Gold had not tried to pick Mama up, he wasn’t sure how he could carry her and balance with his cane.

It wasn’t until he was leading Miss French up the stairs that the implications of his offer caught up with him. The kittens were in his closet. In his closet in his bedroom. Apart from Mrs Potts running the vacuum around and dropping his laundry in for him to put away, there hadn’t been a woman in his bedroom in years. Many, many years. He gave himself a stern mental shake. Miss French was here to see the kittens and that was all, still as the open bedroom door came into sight he paused.

“Would you just wait here for a moment?”

Miss French rubbed her cheek against Mama’s furry head and nodded. Gold hurried into his bedroom and quickly scanned around to make sure there was nothing untoward on view. He was cursing himself for acting like a freshman who’d never had a girl over before, but he couldn’t stop himself. No laundry peeking of the hamper, bed neatly made, nothing incriminating on the nightstand. Actually. He swiped the bottle of useless sleeping pills into the nightstand drawer, no need for a stranger to see those.

Mewly noises started coming from the closet and Gold heard Miss French squeak. A second later Mama ran into the room and dashed towards the closet.

“You can come in now Miss French.”

Miss French edged into the room looking as nervous as he felt. He waved a hand towards the closet. Apparently, his ability to speak had abandoned him. As she ducked into the closet Gold throttled his cane and cursed silently to himself. He needed to get a grip, he was a grown man for fuck’s sake. Convincing himself that he was perfectly in control he walked into the closet and looked inside.

Miss French was sat on the floor by his jumper drawer cooing over the kittens who were busy feeding from a very proud looking Mama.

“Aren’t they darling?”

“Mama’s doing a great job with them.”

Miss French looked up at him and he realised that he was blocking the door, effectively trapping her in the closet. He wasn’t comfortable about leaving a stranger alone in his closet, but he didn’t want to make her trapped. Aha, for once his damn leg would be useful. He nodded at the chair he’d brought in for easier kitten-watching; “Would you mind if I sit down?”

He added a subtle nod to his cane to underline his need without having to say anything aloud.

“Of course.”

There was more than enough space to step by her, but she still tucked her feet out of his way. Once he was sat down, she repositioned herself so she could face him and still look in at the kittens.

“They’re feeding well.”

Gold nodded; “Oh yes. Doctor Alderson says Mama has plenty of milk, I just have to keep her fed and make sure she has lots of fresh water.”

Miss French covered a giggle with her hand; “Sorry, so odd hearing you call Minty Mama.”

He shrugged; “Not as if she had a collar and name tag when she broke into my house. Erm, why Minty?”

“Ah, well, the official story is that I named her after the lead character in ‘The Moondial’ by Helen Creswell. Sort of thing people expect from a librarian.”

Gold had wondered what she did for work. She’d mentioned that she thought she would be unemployed, but he filed that away for later not wanting to set off her crying again.

“And the real story?”

“The first day I had her she got into my grocery bags and attacked my toothpaste. She was covered in the stuff and smelt very Minty.”

Gold cast a wary eye over his clothes. Mama had shown no inclination to claw at anything, but maybe he should move somethings into one of the closets in the guestrooms. Miss French followed his gaze and must have caught his line of thought.

“Oh, don’t worry. She was still hardly more than a kitten then. She’s very well behaved and only claws at scratching posts now.”

Feeling reassured and relieved he said; “Good I bought one of those today.”

Miss French cocked her head at him; “You were in the pet shop. I thought you looked familiar.”

Gold suddenly felt ridiculous for spending so much money cats there were not his. Miss French didn’t say anything about the obviously new purchases in Mama’s, no Minty’s vicinity. She was stroking the tip of her finger over the top of the grey tabby’s head.

“You must think I’m an irresponsible owner, not having Minty fixed.”

“I did wonder, but I’ve never had a cat before, I don’t know if there is an age requirement for such an operation.”

Belle gave a one-shouldered shrug and kept her eyes on the kitten; “You know how it is you plan for these things and then something else crops up, and I thought with Minty being an indoor cat it would be alright. I should have had her fixed the moment she started on her escape bids, which in hindsight I think was actually Gaston kicking her out of the apartment.”

“Ah Gaston? That would be the rat bastard ex?”

Belle chuckled; “Yup, that’s him. Said he was hunting with buddies and somehow Minty got into the car and made a dash for it when they stopped here.”

Something about her story caught Gold’s attention, but beyond what a complete twat her ex was he couldn’t put his finger on it. Damn it being this tired was seriously doing a number on his mental capabilities. Maybe he could persuade Mama into using the cat bed he had bought this morning. He’d left it by the side of his bed in the hopes Mama would find it and relocate her little family. The best sleep he’d had in weeks was on the floor of his closet listening to the purrs and soft meows of the cats. Well, most restful, his aching joints hadn’t appreciated the position too much.

“Aha, I thought this would be where you both were hiding.”

Mrs Potts bustled in and deposited a tray of tea and biscuits on the countertop by Gold’s elbow. She smiled at Miss French and peered at the kittens.

“So sweet. I’ll leave you to it then.”

Before either of them could say anything more than thank you Mrs Potts hurried away.

“I’m not sure she likes me much.”

Gold suspected that Mrs Potts had been quite short with Miss French when she was under the impression that she had dumped her cat in a strange town. Mrs Potts wasn’t the sort to hold a grudge, but he couldn’t work out how to explain this to Miss French without sounding strange.

“She’s allergic to cats.”

Miss French accepted his explanation and Gold busied himself with pouring tea. She raised an eyebrow at the amount of sugar he added to his but said nothing. In his defence he had cut down from four to two recently, not that he needed to defend his sweet-tooth to a near-stranger.

“So, do you have a suspect for papa cat? I happen to be lawyer, we could sue for kitten support payments.”

She cradled her teacup in her hands and laughed at his words; “Looking at the grey tabby there I suspect papa is Greebo, third of his name and undisputed cat king of the neighbourhood. I wouldn’t want to sue him or Mrs Ogden though.”

She bit her bottom lip and looked suddenly pensive; “I clearly owe you money for all the cat things you’ve bought, and to replace your sweaters, erm if you would be willing to wait a few weeks…”

Gold recalled how she had said she was now homeless and very likely out of a job. He didn’t know the particulars and now didn’t feel like the correct time to discover them. He was happy just to have her getting to know the kittens and spending time with Mama, no Minty, it was going to take him a while to get that right. He waved off her worried suggestion.

“Tis no matter, dearie. We can discuss it once you are back on an even keel.”

He took a sip of his tea and carefully asked; “Will you be staying in town?”

“Oh yes. I’ve taken a room at Granny’s Inn for the week.”

He didn’t press for more details but found himself smiling that she’d be in town for a while longer.

Mama clearly annoyed with the lack of attention decided to climb out of the drawer with one of the kittens. The little grey mewled as it hung by its scruff.

“Where’re you going Minty?”

Miss French set her cup down on the floor and crawled after Mama. Gold almost choked on his tea as he watched her skirt pull tight over the lovely curve of her bum. The teacup dropped from his trembling fingers spilling hot tea all down his trouser leg.

“Oh fuck it!”


	6. Chapter 6

Belle had crawled after Minty without thinking of the sight she would be presenting to Mr Gold. It was habit to follow after her cat on all fours. Gaston had frequently said that her bum was to big, never stopped him slapping or groping it. Mr Gold struck her as having such good manners he wouldn’t even ogle her. She crawled further around the closet door and smiled at the sight of Minty settling the little grey kitten into the cat bed. Mr Gold had got all out, Belle had been eyeing that particular model for months, but the brand was very expensive.

“Oh fuck it!”

She jumped at the sudden shout, that was not the sort of language she’d expected from Mr Gold. As quickly as she could she crawled back into the closet to find Mr Gold pulling at his trouser leg and his tea cup on the floor. It didn’t take Sherlock Holmes to work out what had happened.

“We need to get you out of those trousers now!”

Mr Gold made the oddest choking noise. Belle winced at her clumsy wording, what a thing to say to a man she’d just met, while she was kneeling on his closet floor. She stood up taking the broken cup with her; “I’ll wait out here while you change.”

“Thank you.”

She backed out and felt Minty brush by her ankle. If Minty was intent on moving the kittens right now then Belle couldn’t close the closet door completely, she pushed it to, leaving a cat size gap and moved to sit by the cat bed. With her back to the wall she didn’t have a view of the closet, just in case Minty decided to push the door all the way open. Smokey was fussing about being left along.

“Oh hush, Mama will be right back.”

On cue Minty slipped out of the closet with one of the calico kittens. Belle tried to focus on their little mews, but she could still hear the soft rustle of fabric and the heavier breathing as Mr Gold changed his trousers. This is not how she had expected her day to turn out when she woke up this morning. She stroked Minty’s back as she padded by to get the last kitten, at least something had gone right today. There was so much she needed to do; organize a truck and collect her stuff from the apartment; call Mrs Legume an let her know the wedding was off, and probably get fired at the same time; find storage for her stuff; look for a new job, and apartment.

Belle groaned to herself. She’d need to break that list down into smaller tasks or she was going to curl up on the floor in a sobbing ball and never move. Maybe Mr Gold would buy her a cat bed as well. The ridiculousness of her thoughts at least brought a smile to her face as Minty settled the last kitten next to its siblings. Belle thought she’d snuggle in with the kittens, but she went back into the closet again.

“What are you after Minty?”

A soft chuckle came from the closet and Mr Gold appeared holding one of his sweaters. Minty was winding around his ankles meowing.

“She wants this.”

He’d changed his trousers for a pair that looked identical to Belle’s eye, but he’d not replaced his shoes. She couldn’t help but smile at the bright polka dots on his socks. She schooled her face into a mock-frown and wagged a finger at Minty.

“You’re being spoiled rotten and you’re still making demands.”

He limped over to the cat bed, slowly because Minty was still weaving around his feet. Belle caught herself tensing, waiting for him to nudge her out of the way with his foot. The nudge never came, he just avoided her as if he’d been dodging around cats forever. He dropped the sweater on the edge of the cat bed.

“I’ll let you arrange it Mama Minty.”

He sat down on the edge of the bed and leaned his cane against the wall. Belle noticed a small scuff on the wallpaper, as if the cane had leaned in that spot many, many times. She dragged her eyes away from the cane and her musings on how long he had used it.

“No damage done?”

Her nod towards his leg explained what she was asking about; “No burns, I’m fine.”

“That’s good. You faired better than your cup. It’s a little chipped.”

Rather than risk him leaning forward and maybe falling from his perch on the bed Belle rose up on her knees to close the distance between them. Their fingers brushed as she handed him the cup and a tiny spark of static leapt between them. Belle shifted back to lean against the wall again.

“Sorry, side effect of crawling around on the floor.”

Mr Gold waved her apology away; “Tis no matter. And if I can find the chip, this can be repaired.”

His whiskey eyes almost looked gold as he smiled at her. For the first time she noticed how tired he looked. She wondered what could be troubling his sleep. He appeared to be more than comfortable financially, but even money couldn’t but peace of mind, and restful nights.

“Are you going to be alright with Minty and the kittens sleeping in here?”

He smiled at the cats; “Oh I expect so. Would you mind having a look at the items I purchased for them? You know Mama, sorry Minty’s preferences. I’d hate to upset her by offering her the wrong type of food.”

Minty’s ears perked up at the mention of food. Belle stroked her head to let her know it wasn’t meal time just yet.

“Honestly, she’d not all that fussy, so if she tries to act like a prima donna let me know and I’ll have words with her.”

They sat in an easy silence for a while until Mr Gold sighed and grabbed a pillow from the head of the bed.

“I’m missing out on cat fuss up here. Do you mind if I join you?”

She gave him a nod. He carefully eased himself onto the floor so he could lean back against the bed. The pillow went under his right knee. Belle was curious as to what condition or injury caused him such pain, but she wasn’t going to ask. They were not friendly enough to ask such personal questions, he hadn’t even offered her his first name. Well, there was nothing to stop her getting the ball rolling on that one.

“Since we are cat-parents you can call me Belle, if you’d like.”

His hair fell into his face as he stretched to stroke one of the kittens; “Ah this is always awkward. I, erm, I can’t stand my given name, most people just call me Gold.”

She gave him a warm smile; “Gold it is then, if that’s okay?”

The smile he gave her was hesitant, as if he was expecting her to push more on his name. Many people probably had, but he’d said he didn’t like it and that was all she needed to know.

“That’s okay, Belle.”

“Speaking of names, have you any ideas what to call the kittens.”

Gold looked genuinely surprised to be asked; “To be honest I was planning on waiting until they were up and about, get a better idea of their personalities.”

He had no experience with cats at all. Belle had suspected as much considering the way he’d gone over the top with purchasing supplies. The way he’d managed to walk around Minty had thrown her off, but a man with a cane would be used to being careful where he placed his feet.

“We’ll be calling them ‘How did you get in there’, ‘Get down’ and ‘You’ve just been fed’ then.”

Gold gave her a look of mock horror; “Are you suggesting these wee balls of fluff are going to be troublemakers?”

“Oh yes.”

“I don’t believe you.”

His grin belied the serious tone of his words, and suddenly they were both giggling. A rap at the bedroom door interrupted them.

“Yes Mrs Potts?”

“Sorry to interrupt. Miss French your bag is ringing.”

She had brought Belle’s handbag up from the study. Belle scrambled to her feet and thanked her as she took her bag. While she was searching for her phone, she was aware of a silent communication going on between employer and housekeeper, which ended when Gold said; “Thank you Mrs Potts.”

The housekeeper huffed as she left. Belle frowned at her phone. Six missed calls, fourteen texts and three emails. She couldn’t avoid the fallout from her break-up anymore.

“Gold, I have to go, I’ve got,” – she held her phone up and shrugged, - “things to deal with.”

With practiced movements he rose from the floor and reached for his cane; “I understand.”

Minty mewled. Belle leaned down and stroked her ears; “Don’t worry Minty. I’ll see you…”

She trailed off, not wanting to invite herself back to visit her cat. Gold gave an easy shrug; “Tomorrow lunchtime? I have to work until one, but after that you are very welcome to join me for lunch and visit with Mama Minty.”

“I’d like that, thank you.”

Gold led her downstairs and asked her to wait a moment at the front door. He ducked into his study and came back with a business card.

“Just in case you need to contact me.”

As she took it from him her phone started ringing again; “I’m sorry. I’ll see you tomorrow at one?”

“Take care Belle.”

“You too Gold.”


End file.
